HAMPTON, Va. — Every year families across the nation tune in to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, but this year there are five people from the Hampton Roads and Perquimans County area participating in the beloved event.
The 97th annual parade will take place in New York City on Thursday, Nov. 23 from 8:30 a.m. to noon.
This year, Hampton University (HU) will be represented in the historic parade, with its lead band director and two assistant directors in attendance.
Thomas Jones Jr., the director of university bands at HU, is set to play the trumpet in the parade, while assistant band directors Alexander Hamilton II and Clifford Cox have been selected to perform percussion and baritone, respectively.
Meanwhile, Katelyn Lesko Copeland, band director at Perquimans County Middle School, and her husband Evan Copeland, the band director at Perquimans County High School, will join 400 directors from across the U.S. and march in Thursday's parade.
Katelyn and Evan Copeland to perform in 2023 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
The band directors will be marching under the theme "America's band directors. We teach music. We teach life." The Saluting America's Band Directors (SABD) bands directors and music educators together and creates a "unique" marching band for the parade.
"Ask almost any person who has been led by a band director and you will hear that their life was positively changed by a motivational leader who taught, inspired and mentored them, not only in music, but in life itself," according to the SABD website.
In addition to the band performances, the parade will be boasting with giant character balloons, decked-out floats, performance groups, and, of course, Santa Claus.
Cher will be headlining the event, with several others making an appearance, including Grammy-winner Jon Batiste, Bell Biv DeVoe, Pentatonix and Jessie James Decker.
Viewers nationwide can see the Nov. 23 parade live on NBC and streaming on Peacock.
